I am working on trying a new avenue for my oldest son's memory retrieval issue. I was wondering if anyone had any good info or sites that could help me out. I am willing to make a major change for the whole family, after all, cutting out all those artificial colors and junk isn't a bad thing.

I'm sorry. I don't have any ideas. I've thought many times about removing things with artificial colors and sweeteners from our diet. Haven't implemented the idea, though. I tend to get overwhelmed and not know where to start. Please, keep us posted on your journey. It would be especially interesting to hear of any improvements in health and behavior.

Well, I'm new here, but I do have experience with this. I could write six pages on this, or I could just give you some links and invite you to ask questions if you need to.

We do GFCF diet -- that stands for gluten-free, casein-free. It has worked wonders for our child with autism, and we have since found out that four of us need the diet in this family, thanks to some testing that identified it. We all feel much better, even though some of didn't even really have symptoms of gluten intolerance.

Also we try to avoid corn syrup -- it's a dirty, cheap additive that turns into what it is by devious means. We also don't do food dyes. We are not terribly strict about the corn syrup and food dyes-- if we go to a party and the only thing my son can eat is a fruit roll up, because they are serving pizza and cake, then we eat the fruit roll up. But overall, it helps.
Start with www.gfcfdiet.com and www.danasview.netA lot of these talk about autism, but research shows that the diet works for other issues that experts now believe are on the autism spectrum -- such as ADD/ADHD, tourettes, and children with behavior and anger problems.
Ask me questions. I have lots of articles and links.

Well so far I have tried taking away the cow's milk. That didn't go over well. Apparently my oldest is allergic to soy. And nobody liked the other kinds anyway. I wish I could get to the raw milk again.

I took away the food coloring and the corn syrup. I also and taking away the hydrogenated oils. I am noticing a huge benefit I hadn't thought of. They are laying better with others. They don't fight as much with each other, or have squabbles with their friends. We aren't doing much school right now, so I don't know attention levels, but their patience sure is up.

I've got a book from the library about the GFCF diet, but I'm not sure that
1. I could do it (we love a lot of the things that they so no to)
2. It is necessary.

You ask if the GFCF diet is necessary. What I am about to say is my opinion, but it is backed up by a lot of medical studies that substantiate my opinion.
I'll give you links if you want them.

I believe it is absolutely necessary. For us, it is more important than removing the other stuff(you shouldn't be giving your sons soy anyway, and you could always buy Vance's Darifree, which we love. My son does not drink it like a kid drinks a glass of milk. We don't use it to drink, we use it to cook with, and in rare ocassions, on cereal, which he no longer likes to eat for breakfast, since I give him such rockin' breakfasts now. This diet is a lifestyle change and can be difficult. but I challenge you to try it for 30 days. 100 percent GFCF, and tell me you don't see a difference. The difference you see might make it completely worthwhile to stay on the diet.

The differences in my son and one of my daughters when on /off the diet are like night and day. MY son is rainman when on gluten, and my daughter is combative, paranoid, and insomniac when on it, plus they bother have physical signs. MY middle child tested higher than all of them and she has very few, if any symptoms.

Google "Gluten intolerance" and you may see issues/ behaviors in your family that can be described by gluten intolerance. What is your family heritage? If it is Northern European (Irish, Scottish, Welsh, English), you can suspect gluten intolerance, although many other groups can have it.

We all got tested for it and we found we have celiac genes, as well as active gluten intolerance. A lot of people do and don't know it. It is very common.
Here is one of a bajillion links out there:

I got a book at the library about GFCF and it has some great recipes in it. My problem right now is being bale to afford it. DO you notice a difference in your grocery bill? It is ridiculous how expensive it is to eat well.

Just wanted to join in. My son was a former foster child with Bipolar disorder and a long family history of the same. We quickly found out that he reacted strongly to large amounts of calcium... whether a glass of milk or fortified orange juice... so we took him off milk pretty early.

In December of last year, he had become so picky and had limited his diet to one or two "acceptable" foods and his medication was not helping and we were all at the ends of our ropes. Not to mention that everyone but the baby was obese.

We dropped sugar and went to a whole foods diet. As someone said earlier... just the stuff that God makes. John has made drastic improvements. And I've lost almost 70lbs. DH has lost 60lbs. And DS has lost nearly 40. DS' medicine has decreased and he actually plays with other children now.

In a month of school I've not lost one day to him being incapable of handling it at all. This is really major as I used to go year round including Saturdays just so we could get in our 180 days.

I believe he has a wheat sensitivity or allergy. His bedwetting was horrific... we measured several times before and he was wetting at least 5 times each night. He would be so wet that his fingers would be wrinkled when he woke up and he would be wet from neck to toes.

Nowadays, he is wet most mornings but mostly in a circle about the size you would expect. He wets one to two times a night now. Unless he has bread or something with wheat flour. And there are slight changes in his behavior too, when that happens.

You know, you could try the gf/cf and if it improves life for your DS, great. If it doesn't you could always go back.

Btw, I have found I can't tolerate much sugar at all without becoming a real moody demon. Amazing I could function before.

momo3boys wrote:I am working on trying a new avenue for my oldest son's memory retrieval issue. I was wondering if anyone had any good info or sites that could help me out. I am willing to make a major change for the whole family, after all, cutting out all those artificial colors and junk isn't a bad thing.

Major change need major cause. And this is really a appreciation that think to change the whole family.Here is something I found which is helpful for you :-

I've been a vegetarian since my teens, and my kids have never had meat. We eat without artificial flavors, dyes and preservatives as much as possible. My oldest was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in January and we've been gluten-free, lactose-free since then.

We also have food allergies to work around (this is between 2 kiddos): Tree nuts, peanuts, egg yolks, strawberries and mangos